The popularity of traditional herbal medicine being used as complementary medicines or alternative medicines is rapidly increasing in recent years. The current understanding on the molecular mechanisms of immunopotentiating polysaccharides from medicinal herbs have provided important clues on the anti-cancer effects of Chinese herbal medicines [Shao BM, et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004 Aug. 6;320(4):1103-11]. Also, it was found that the combination of anticancer drugs with some herbal extracts contributes to the enhancement of clinical outcomes in cancer chemotherapy [Takara K, et al., Biol Pharm Bull. 2005 Jan.; 28(1):138-42]. Chinese herbal medicines have emerged as an effective tool for treating cancer.
In previous publications, several herbal compounds or complexes have been indicated to be candidate drugs for treating breast cancer. For example, the Glycyrrhizae radix extract was suggested to exhibit inhibitory effects on E2-related endometrial carcinogenesis in mice [Niwa K. et al., Jpn J Cancer Res. 1999 Jul.; 90(7):726-32]. A herbal complex consisting of Hoelen, Angelicae radix, Scutellariae radix and Glycyrrhizae radix suppresses the tumor growth of chemoendocrine resistant cancers [Lian Z, et al., Eur J Gynaecol Oncol. 2001; 22(5): 347-9]. Still another herbal complex consisting of Hoelen, Angelicae radix, Scutellariae radix and Glycyrrhizae radix is shown to be a potential candidate for treating endocrine-resistant gynecologic carcinomas [Lian Z, et al., Cancer Detect Prev. 2003;27(2):147-54]. In addition, it is suggested that Puerariae radix and Ginseng radix Rubra extracts have effective estrogenic actions and could be developed as estrogenic supplements [Kim OS, et al., Arch Pharm Res. 2004 Sep.;27(9):906-11]. Furthermore, the complex named Zhu-xiang containing ginseng and Carthamus tinctorius also exhibits the ability to inhibit proliferation in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell [Loo WT, et al., Life Sci. 2004 Nov. 26;76(2):191-200]. These herbal medicines have shed some lights on the therapy of breast cancer.
All of the above-mentioned references are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.